Metal Gear Solid 2: Alternate yet amusing Story
by Talena-Anne-Marie
Summary: After a LOOOOONG time, chapter seven is finally up! Talena and Raiden defuse C4, Pliskin apologizes, and Fatman gets his! Read and review, if you value your life and sanity! Muaaa~!
1. Welcome, T, to the world of Metal Gear!

Okay, I wrote this simply because Snake never gets much love centers. I had to make him someone he could be with, with some struggle, but all in all, happily. She is not a Mary-Sue; she's me, with long hair and sunglasses. Yay. So please, read, respond, and relish...? Relish? WTF does relish even mean? This is an alternate universe, taking place during Sons of Liberty.

~~~~~~~~

"Who is there?" A voice, Russian, Male. But he couldn't've possibly seen Snake, could he? No, he was looking away, and Snake stayed well hidden. He pulled a Hal Emmerich and almost wet his pants as a female voice answered, scratchy, as if whoever it was had a sore throat.

"Ne. Where is it?"

"Where is what?!" 

"Hm?! You aren't a Marine?!" 

"Who are you?!"

"Then I suppose it won't matter!" The sound of a silenced handgun, and a groan of pain. 

"If you can't tell me where Metal Gear is, you aren't of any use to me. Anyway..." 

Snake had loaded his gun. He jumped out, and looked around. Where was she? Then he spotted her, leaning near the fallen man, wearing all black. She looked young, and Snake couldn't help fifteen seconds of fantasy. 

He stepped forward. She wasn't facing him, so he walked forward quietly, until his gun was pressed to her back. She stiffened, but said nothing, and did not move. 

"You have a weapon." Snake observed. "Drop it. Kick it away." She did so, and then ceased moving again. 

"Both hands in the air where I can see them, miss. Turn around. Slowly!" He added sharply, seeing her attempt at whipping around. 

She wore black sunglasses, concealing her eyes. Any hair she had was covered in a black bandana. Her trench coat was open, showing a black turtleneck sweater, and black leather pants. She wore black, woolly gloves, and knee-high black boots, with no heels. Her lips were painted black, and were pursed into a small line. Finally she smiled, tilting her head back to look at Snake's face. "Hi."

_That, _thought Snake, _has got to be the single strangest thing that anyone has ever said to me in a position like this. _"Who are you?" Asked Snake, his eyes narrowed. "And why are you here?"

"My name? ....Actually, everyone just calls me 'T'. No one ever really named me. So, just call me 'T'. I'm here, because I was told to come here. Isn't that why you are here?"

"...Yeah. But that's not exactly what I meant. ...Dammit, look, I can't just leave you here, so you're coming with me. And you're helping me."

"What are you going to do with me afterward?"

Snake looked down at her and gasped. Her grin was maniacal, if not just demonic. She was looking straight at him, and he was able to make out her eyes through her dark glasses. They were constricted, and looking mighty strange. 

"That remains left to be s- woah, I got an idea. Don't move." He triggered his Codec. It rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. 

"Snake, what's up?"

"Well, Otacon, we have a bit of an issue."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Otacon blinked, confused, wondering what could possibly be going on this early in the mission. 

"Turns out I'm not the only solo here." Snake said, a sour smile fixing on his lips as he surveyed the girl, T. 

"_What? _Snake, who else is there? Who else could _possibly_ be there?!" Otacon sounded generally jumpy. 

"Some girl, calling herself 'T'. She looks insane. Pretty harmless, without a gun."

"Oh, then, sedate her and get on with it."

"Not that easy, Otacon. Turns out she _had _a gun." Snake was determined to remain calm under her demented stare.

"Oh, great." 

"Yeah, and that's not even the bad news."

"Oh no."

"Oh no's right. She is looking for Metal Gear." Snake clenched his teeth, almost expecting Otacon to shriek. 

"Oh God." Came Otacon's quiet surprise. "...Who's she with, Snake?"

"She hasn't said. Hang on. Hey-!" He turned to the girl. "What's your group? FOXHOUND?"

"Group? I'm not with any group..." T lowered her hands and Snake followed them. "Don't worry. You canned my only gun. I have a few knives in my boots, but I can't get to them without you shooting my face off. And believe me, I don't wanna lose that." She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pants pocket, bit the end of one, pulled out put with her teeth, and put them back. She dug around in the same pocket, and pulled out a lighter. She lit the cigarette and put the lighter away, inhaling deeply. She smiled up at Snake, with a small smile, her eyes shut. 

Snake didn't return the smile. "If you aren't with a group, then why are you here?" He asked, prodding her with the gun. 

She smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Snake growled. "Dammit, girl! Tell me!"

"Or what?" She giggled. 

"Or I'll....I'll...."

"Snake!" Came Otacon's voice. "Just shoot her and be done!"

"It's not that easy, Otacon! She hasn't done anything against me!"

"She's acting like an idiot."

"She's acting.....Oh my God, Otacon, you're a genius!"

"That's new..."

"Okay." Snake's attention turned back to T. "Girl-"

"T." 

"Okay, T. Listen to me. You are going to help me complete this mission, and then we're booking it out. I don't know what I'm going to do with you yet, so we'll get to that when it comes down to it. Okay?" Snake eyed her. 

"Can I have my gun back?"

"....I suppose."

T dashed over to where she kicked the pistol, looked around for it, found it, picked it up, and kissed it. "Okay. I got it. Now, what are you doing?"

"Takin' pictures of....why the hell am I telling you this?"

"Cause I asked."

"Shut up and follow me." Snake seethed.

"...Oh, alright." 

"Oh, how sweet. Love birds, I take it?" Came a female, Russian voice. "Well, I apologize, but there is no time to be kissy-face. And besides. If I'm not mistaken, you don't belong on this tanker."

They whipped around, and Snake smacked his forehead. They had been so loud, HE had been found. She was blond, not pretty, but not ugly. She smiled, pulling out a gun. "Hands up, both of you." 

"No way, hun." It was T. Her view had changed again. Her glasses had slipped down her nose, revealing dark green eyes, now narrowed in anger. You Russians don't belong here. You are the intruders."

"Even so, dear girl, you are not to be concerned."

"What's going to stop me, hm?"

"This!" Cried the woman. A gunshot went off, and T fell to her knees, clutching her chest. 

"T!" Cried Snake. He pulled his M9, letting a few bullets fly through the air. They hit the woman, and she clutched her throat, also falling, but her, only into an induced sleep. Snake flipped her body over and pulled off her dog tags. "Olga Gurlukavich..." He read. "Hmm...." He pocketed them, then looked over to T. 

She was choking on her own blood, a sight that made Snake wince. She stopped for a moment, offering Snake a bloody smile, and then gagged again. 

Snake looked around. The rain was drenching her clothing. She would develop a cough, and with her already bloody condition, it was not healthy for her at all. 

__

"Hey.." She choked. "Take me with you."

"I can't do that, look at you!" Snake whispered. "You could get killed."

"I'll die anyway...Snake, I....I only wanted...to be with you...."

"What the hell?! What?! WHAT?! Who are you? How do you know who I AM?"

T smiled a bit. "Get me inside. I'll explain."

She allowed herself to be carried into the small room, and placed on a table. But Snake's expression was still cold. "I know you are probably freaked out that I know who you are. That I'd reveal you. But don't worry--I wouldn't. Not for any amount of money. Not for anyone. I work solo. And....yes, I do know about you. I know more about you than I do about myself. I.....I was raised by a woman. I never knew her name, so I called her 'M'. She thought it was funny, so she began calling me 'T'. When I turned fifteen, I heard about you. I had been fooling around with some tap busting equipment of M's. I heard you talking to someone. Your voice...I dunno, _enchanted _me. Then I heard someone say 'Solid Snake', and you responded."

"Yeah, but-" Snake began.

"Well, I did extensive research, and by extensive I mean a year, on the Internet. I managed to find some clown named Hal Emmerich's website online. I looked it over. There were pictures upon pictures. Then I found the picture I was looking for. '_These are my friends, Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, and Roy Cambell'_, it read. I clicked it, and found you. And, well...I fell in love with that picture. I book marked it, and looked at it almost every day. I began to draw sketches of you. You fighting, you laughing, you nursing a wound, you an I..."

She coughed, and blood splattered down her front and the front of Snake's suit. They both winced. "Look, Snake....let's get this over with. If we live, well...we can get to know each other better. Oh, don't look at me like that!" She laughed, mistaking his look of approval for contempt. 

"Like what? Hey, do me a favor." Snake said. "I've seen your eyes when you were staring at Olga. I am currently envisioning you with blond hair."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Snake, but.." She pulled off her bandana and long red hair fell below her shoulders. "I'm a carrot top."

But Snake wasn't disappointed. Oh, no, if anything, he was charmed. His jaw dropped. "Waw." 

She burst out laughing. "Thanks, I think!" She pulled the bandana back on, making sure it covered her hair, and then placed her sunglasses in her pocket. "I suppose I'm probably going to need to see during this."

"Yeah, most likely." Snake said, giving her a rather skeptical look. 

"Let's go then, shall we?" And she kicked the door open, and they descended to the basement. 


	2. Otacon, We have a problem...

Welcome back readers!! I have Chapter two, like it or not. For warning, this is an Alternate Story, so Raiden may not exist. Sorry, Raiden fan girls. He's not my type. Too happy. Thanks for all the great reviews! That makes me feel really cool when people complement me instead of insult me. 

~

"Hm, uh, Snake?"

"Sh! What?"

"I need a bathroom..."

"Can't you hold it?"

"It's not that, I, uh...have...uh...feminine issues at the moment."

"Damn!" Snake covered his eyes. "I won't look. Hurry up."

She pulled out a Tampax from her pocket and did what she needed to do. When she was done, Snake heard a faucet running and looked up. (A/N: "Hey, Bea, where'd she get a faucet?" "Hush, Otacon, and pay attention.") "Can we hurry this up?" She asked. "I'm gonna miss Jackie Chan Adventures again, and I wanna see if Valmont gets rid of Shendu."

Snake smacked himself on the forehead and stared at her in hilarious exasperation. "I've never met anyone quite like you, T. You're something else."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"I mean...uh...after this I'd like to keep in touch with you, if that's okay with you." Snake smiled at her.

"Duh." She grinned. "We can exchange numbers after this. For now, what's your friend's frequency?" 

"141.12" Snake whispered. (A/N: I don't know his MGS2 Frequency off the top of my head, but that's MGS1)

He watched her pull out something like a small black cell phone and punch in the frequency. "Snake?" Came the response.

"Hardly." T responded. "Listen, I am finishing this mission with Snake, but we can't find the room where we're supposed to be."

"Okay, I've been-are you sure you're with Snake?" Otacon asked.

"Yes." Snake said loud enough for him to hear. 

"Oh, okay. Well, I've been tracking your movements. Face the wall with the lockers on it and turn left. There's a door. Go through it, and you can figure out what to do after that. Tell Snake that there is a PC he can log in on in there and send me the pictures. We await your arrival home. Good luck, Snake, T."

"Who is 'we', Otacon?" Snake asked, tapping into his codec. 

"Snake? Hey remember me?"

"Meryl?! You...oh, shit. Well, yes, I'll see you all later then."

T looked amused. "Who's Meryl?"

"Ahem...um, no one."

"Meryl's your girlfriend, ain't she?"

"My dear T, which part of the USA are you from?"

"Kentucky!" She smiled proudly. (A/N: I'm from Kentucky and I've lived here all my life. I'm allowed to make fun of our speech.)

"Hm." Snake said. "No, Meryl's not."

"Okay. Yeah." T said, but looked at him in disbelief. "Well, if she _was _your girlfriend, it would be _polite _of you to apologize to _me _for _hitting _on me. But you know, since she's not..."

Snake grinned, wide. "You are something else."

"We've established that."

He pulled her closer and pressed his lips gently to hers. She pulled back after three seconds, and stared at him. "She's not your girlfriend, is she?"

"I told you." Snake said quietly. 

Then, looking at each other for a long time, they exploded into a fit of laughter, trying desperately to keep quiet.

Then, without warning, Snake grabbed her by the arm and drug her through the next door. They climbed down a good number of ladders before they hit the bottom. Snake looked around and spotted the PC. "Okay, listen, T. You go to the PC over there. I'll go ahead and take the shots. As I take them, they will be forwarded to your cell phone...thing. You send them to Otacon, got it?"

"Yes. My frequency is 185.85" She bit her lip and hugged him. "Good luck. Be careful." She whispered.

He nodded and ducked, crawling off. She went and hid by the computer. 

A few minutes went by and still nothing. Suddenly, just as she began to worry, her phone clicked softly a few times. She plugged her phone in by a cord to the PC and turned it on. She logged on and the text appeared on the screen. 

-Snake?-

-No, it's T. Listen I got the pics here. I'm going to forward them to you now.-

-Alright.-

She did this and when it finished, she typed -Bye, Otacon.- and turned off the PC. She turned around and shrieked. "Who are you?!"

She looked around. Russian soldiers had the marines hostage. "Sergei. Sergei Gurlukovich. I take it you were the one who attacked my daughter. Surrender, or your boyfriend here gets it." He moved, and saw that a soldier had Snake.

"D-damn!"

But as soon as she said that, a gun went off and Gurlukovich fell, dead. T looked around. 

"Ugh!" Someone cried. T looked over to where Snake had been and saw that he was now fine, the Russian soldier had fell. He looked up. "Ocelot!" He yelled.

"Solid Snake! Ah, I see. Well, no matter. This ship is going down anyway. You can go with it!" He swung off of the rail and landed in front of them and walked towards them. "Who's the girl...brother?!" Upon saying brother his voice changed dramatically. T yelped, falling and Snake gasped. "Liquid?! But, no! How?! HOW?!"

"Ocelot" pulled up a sleeve and smiled. "This arm. The arm that Ocelot lost is mine, now. I live on through this arm!

T raised an eyebrow. "Kind of a shitty body part to live through."

Ocelot was now struggling to hold the gun. It was an inner struggle between the two minds that possessed the head of the man. 

"T! Come on!" Snake grabbed her arm and began pulling her. They went up the ladder, swinging around. They retraced their steps, but T soon stopped him. "Snake! This way! I have a boat, but we'll have to hurry!"

They shot off that way until they came to a small black boat. They climbed in and T started her up. She pushed the motor as hard as it could go, and they were hitting almost 100. But Snake turned around and a look of shock plastered his face. "T. Go faster."

"I can't. Why, what's wrong?" She side glanced him. 

"Because. Ocelot is following us. In Metal Gear."

~

A/N: Well how was chapter two? I hope it turned out good. It is so hard to write things with original characters. BTW, my name does not start with T. My name is Alison. I act a lot like T does, but I am way more shy. Please review! Love you all, 

Beatrix CoRal 


	3. Sortuva Sad Twist....

A/N: Beautiful people do ugly things. O.o Know what I mean? No? Yes? Hm. Well, anyway, thanks for all your beautiful reviews. *Clears throat* The first of which was an insult. I should smack that person. Well, here's chapter three!! 

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"Ahh!" T veered hard. "Where is it?! I can't see it anywhere!" 

"Uh....I..I think it submerged!!" Snake called. "We...Guh!" He yelped. It had shot up in front of them." 

"Any last words?" They heard Liquid call in a sing-song voice. 

"Um, yeah..." T blinked. "I want a cookie, moo cow, Holy crap, Bill Cosby, You can do it, Nicky, kitty kitty, I want McDonald's, Satan, and Jesus Murphy." 

There was a moment of silence in which Snake stared blankly at T. "You-" But he was inturrupted. An explosion went off. 

---------------------------------- 

Snake was out cold, and quite a bit of blood had leaked through his suit. T herself was barely conscious, and had a bloody gash along the back of her neck. She had trouble holding her head up. But, being the determined female that she was, she had managed to float Snake back to the harbor using a piece of floating wood. 

Out of the water, T had made scraps of her long trench coat with a knife and used them to temporarily cover her and Snake's wounds. She clumsily tried to wave down help, but no one saw her. She collapsed next to Snake and rummaged around to find her communications gadget. Upon finding it, she banged it against her knee to get it started. Once it booted up, she dialed in Otacon's frequency. 

"T!" Otacon called. "What happened" 

"I...I don'...don' 'member...I can' stay...Snake's hurt, you...you need to come...an', an' find us...we...we're at the h-h-har-harbor..." 

"Hang in there, T!" Otacon cried. "We're on our way!" 

"Hurry..." And she faded out, loosing consciousness. 

---------------------------------- 

T stirred. It was warm, and there was light. She sat up quickly, but was forced back down. "Easy. You'll make yourself sick." 

A stunningly handsome young man was looking at her. "Who the hell are you?" T asked quietly. 

"Hal Emmerich. Otacon. The one who helped you through your mission." He smiled at her. "You and Snake have made remarkable recoveries, almost 100%. Only thing is, you have a fever, and he's still unconscious." 

"He's stable." T repeated. 

"Yes." Otacon smiled. 

"He might even be awake." Came a female voice. "I poked him with a ruler and he grumbled." 

"Oh!" Otacon blushed furiously. "T, this is Meryl Silverburgh. She;s been giving me a hand around here. Meryl, this is T, the newcomer." 

Meryl smiled. "Well, then, T, welcome to Philanthropy." She offered her hand to shake, and T did so, weakly. "Hm," Meryl gazed thoughtfully at her. "You need a better name than 'T'. It's just not very .....namely." 

Otacon and T stared. 

"How about Talena?" 

"T...Talena?" T echoed. 

"Sure! Talena Silverburgh. We can be sisters!" 

"I...I...okay...." T, rather Talena, smiled gratefully at Meryl. "I didn't have much of a family." 

"Well, you have one now. Snake, Otacon and I, and now you, we are family." 

"Let's work on the family bonds, then." Came a sleepy voice from the corner. "Seeing as how I thought you were dead for _quite _a long time." 

"Heh. Sorry, Snake." Meryl said, turning around. 

At this point, T struggled to get up, tripped, got back up, and jumped on Snake. "You're alive! Oh, thank you, God..." 

"Woah, easy, you about killed me there." Snake said, gently prying her off. "I'm fine, now. I need a little rest and quiet, but-" 

He was inturrupted by a squeak. He raised an eyebrow. "Um, Otacon?" 

"Snake? You're dead." 

"No, I'm right here." 

"No, you're leagally dead. Ocelot....he reported you dead." 

"And what about Talena?" Meryl asked. 

"No birth record. No one believed that a girl was there with Snake." 

"What's the point?" Snake asked, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, standing up slowly and walking slowly over to Otacon. 

"They...they have your social security number, Snake. They know where our HQ is." 

"Oh, no. Oh, no.." Talena said. "If they find me, I'm smoked. They'll shoot me up faster than-" 

"Talena, we're getting you out of here. You have to leave." Meryl said, grabbing her hand. 

"I...Oh, my God!" She said, her eyes welling up with tears. "This is all my fault!!" 

"No, it's not." Snake said in a low voice. He looked over. "T, erm, Talena...let me talk to you. Alone." 

He took her into another room, and touched her face. "It's not your fault, but we have to keep you safe. You have to go." 

"Snake..." Talena said quietly, looking up. 

"Yeah?" 

"Don't forget me." 

"How could I? You're..." 

"I'm what?" Talena said with her goofy smile. 

"You're the weirdest person I have ever met." Snake grinned. 

"Snake, I don't want to.." 

"I know, but hey, I'll see you again. With a different name, but the same face." 

"......" 

"I'll love you, the whole time we're apart. It's amazing what people can go through in two days." 

"Yeah. Bye, Snake." She reached up and stroked his rough face before Meryl came in. 

"Come on, Talena. I'm gonna take you to someone I know can help you out." She said with a small smile. 

"Yeah, okay." And she left. 

----------------------------------- 

A/N: Weellllll?!?! How was chapter three?! Ah, just when the love scene heats up, some screwed up government official ruins the whole scene. Any suggestions for the next chapter?! E-mail me, please, or IM me, or write it in a review. Thank you, so very much!! 


	4. A Blonde, A Red Head, and A Vampire!

Hi people. Thanks for the great reviews, I appreciate it. Well, sorry it took a long time to get this up, but my time schedule doesn't like me very much. Between hanging with my friends, playing MGS (One, as I just beet Sons of Liberty) and going places, sleeping and eating, I had to type this up at midnight, and I was loosing my mind. Ahaha. After the whole MGS2 plot, the rating will be upped a bit, cause Snake and Talenaheh. BTW, I don't hate Raiden anymore! Yay. 

Talena groaned miserably as the Colonel gave out her orders over cell phone. "You're insane, old man. Nuts. Loco. Coocoo." 

"I'm sorry, Talena, but you were sent here to work, and you will have to go with Jack." 

"But he's giiiiiirlyyyyyyyy." She whined. "Snake wasn't girly." 

"Jack is not girly. True he has some feminine features, but he's just as masculine as anyone." The Colonel persisted. 

"QUACK!" Talena screamed. "You're an insane old fogey fart, termite turd in need of a life!!" 

But the Colonel ignored her and disconnected. 

~~~~~~~ 

"Otacon? Where're you going?" "Oh! Hi, Meryl. Uh, you know where I'm going." He said, smiling and adjusting his glasses bashfully. "I'm going with you." "Oh, no you aren't. I can't let you get hurt." "I won't. And besides, you're the one who'll get hurt, shrimp." "H-hey" Meryl smiled and kissed his cheek. "Besides. If something happens to you" 

~~~~~~~ 

BIG SHELL 

"Sir," Talena said through her Codec. "Jack cannot go by Snake. He can't. I won't allow him to. I'll kill us both." She said in a rather serious voice. 

Jack thought she was kidding at first. "?" 

"You're right, Talena. Solid Snake is either deador insane." The Colonel said almost emotionlessly, as if he didn't care. 

"What?!" Talena said at the second part. 

"Yes. The head of this operation is calling himself Solid Snake." 

"No!" 

"Yes." 

"Sick" Raiden frowned. "Some sick freak. Snake wouldn'the'd never" 

"What's wrong with you two?!" The Colonel scolded. "You don't know what happened to Snake." 

Talena was itching to tell him otherwise. But instead she decided on something else. "That's not what I meant anyway." 

"What did you mean?" Jack asked. 

"I don't, first of all, believe him to be dead or insane. Secondly, I don't think he would appreciate it too much if someone like Jack were using his name." Talena growled, rather irritated with everyone. She was itching to get to the site to get out of the damned wetsuit. 

"What does that mean?" Jack asked, mock-offended. 

"Well, then, let's call you Raiden. Talena, you'll go by T, as usual." The Colonel spat, irritated. 

"Hello, there, Raiden." Came a silky female voice that made Talena cock an eyebrow. 

"Rosemary?!" Raiden shrieked. "What in the blue hell are you doing here?!" 

"I wanted to help!" Rosemary sounded generally pleased with herself, and Talena decided to sit back and see how this would all turn out. 

"No! Go home! It's too dangerous." Jack argued. 

"You can't boss me around! Besides, I'm a data analyst." She growled back. 

They only stopped when they heard Talena snort in laughter. "What's so funny?!" Rosemary asked her. 

Talena grinned. "The telephone conversation in my ear. Ooh! Raiden, we're here." 

They shut out their Codecs and climbed out. Talena took off her helmet and checked out her wetsuit. "I feel so sexy." She groaned, rolling her eyes. She unzipped the water pack that she had brought with her. Raiden stared. She had brought along her trenchcoat, her bandanna, and her Rayban sunglasses. 

She shrugged at the staring Raiden. "I felt naked." 

They sat down for a breather. Raiden pulled out a water bottle and sipped it, offering it to Talena who shook her head. "So," Raiden began. "Why did you finally agree to come?" 

"Someonesomeone important to me once said to me that they'd see me again. And I can't miss that chance. I can't." She said, smiling. 

"You think you'll see them again here?" 

"Maybe." 

"Okaylet's move." 

~~~~~~~ 

"Helena?!" 

"T?!" 

"N-no!! Youyou're trying to" 

"I've changed, T, I" 

"You're with Dead Cell! Youyou sick" 

~~~~~~~ 

Talena gasped. Another daydream gone bad. Like she had been having for the last two years. Raiden looked up at her, concerned. "Hey, what's the matter?" 

"I thinkno, it's nothing. 

~~~~~~~ 

Blood streaked the steel floor in front of them. "This is, um, unusual, how do you say." Talena said, poking it with a covered hand, then sniffing it. "Either there's an elephant on her period in here, or there was a massacre." 

"The latter seems more likely." Raiden said, holding his hand up to his forehead in a "please shut up" manner.  
The Colonel buzzed them. "T, Raiden, do NOT go in there." 

"Why?" Talena asked. 

"Too dangerous. Move on." 

"Tch. Whatever." Talena took the door hatch and looked to Raiden. "Wanna check it out?" 

He nodded, but before she had a chance to enter, they heard something. They both stopped dead, scarcely breathing. 

"Where is he?!" 

"I can't hit him!" 

"Damn!" 

"Argh!" 

Talena and Raiden looked at each other, nodded, and pushed open the door. Inside, they looked around. Talena gave a small whimper, and Raiden pressed a hand over his mouth, to keep him from either screaming or vomiting, or even perhaps both. 

A man was feeding on the blood of a dead soldier. 

Talena turned around a bit and her hand hit the railing. 

The man heard, and turned. He hissed, but then grinned, taking out a knife and cutting a thin line across his chest. 

"Five today. Perhaps six? Maybe even seven, but I don't enjoy killing the frail." 

"Hey, which one you callin' FRAIL, bat boy?!" Talena fumed. 

"Get down!" Someone called. Raiden grabbed Talena's arm and they dropped. 

A few minutes of crying in pure terror as bullets whizzed by. Finally she looked up and yelped. The Vampire had a knife pressed to Raiden's face, but WHAM! Her foot connected with his groin area. 

He groaned in pain, but a few bullets flew in his direction, and he jumped. Talena jumped, turned and the vampire man had the new guy pressed against a wall, commenting on a strange smell. 

"What are you waiting for?!" The camo-clad man yelled to Raiden, and Talena's heart gave a leap at his voice. "Shoot!" 

The Vampire spun to attack, 

"Vamp." Came a voice from somewhere around his butt. (A/N: "What the fuck?" "Otacon, watch your mouth! I couldn't think of anything else." "Whatever..") 

"Yeah, Queen?" 

But Talena was too tear stricken gazing at the camo-clad man to catch any more. "Snakeit's Snake" She mouthed. "He's alive, he's here, he's alive" 

Raiden had shot wildly at Vamp, but he had disappeared. Talena wasn't paying attention, though. She was locked eyes with the man who had just taken his mask off, and smiled weakly at her. 


	5. Woooo! Ghosties of Past Friendships Haun...

A/N: Ahaha. I'm already back. I decided since I had some free time at *Checks clock* 11:54 tonight, I'd post another chapter, to the delight of my readers. Don't worry, the suspense will rise greatly. Heh, I have some ahead chapters written, and there *is* a small sex scene, but not enough to earn an NC-17. 

There are three for sure pairings---Rose and Raiden, duh, Snake and the lovely Talena, duh, and if you haven't figured the third one it, you've got problems. Especially after that one paragraph in my last chapter. I'm not gonna focus on Rose and Raiden at all, except for what the game covers, (calling you while you're in a boss battle "Jack, I wanna talk about our relationship…"), the second pairing will be mildly covered, but THIS IS A SNAKE FANFIC! Grassy-ass. 

PS. I know I'm gonna drive some people crazy with this, but I'm changing the story a bit, because it's been forever since I've played this particular area of the game. 

----------

"S-Snake…it's…" Talena couldn't believe her eyes. She snapped out of it and watched Raiden, who was walking towards the man with a great look of suspicion on his face. Talena took a moment to gather herself, and then followed Raiden, humming quietly to herself a song she made up. 

__

Clever as the common fox 

__

Deep as the Pacific 

__

Painful ghosts of tales untold 

__

In your emerald eyes… 

__

Bloodstained are your hands 

Your face no longer clean 

__

But safe one can always feel 

__

In your emerald eyes… 

She locked eyes with him and swooned. It was him! Those green eyes, they matched hers, but they were….perfect. Talena's eyes weren't even that green. The poem! When she had first wrote it, Raiden had thought it was about herself. Talena had just snorted and shook her head. "No, Jack." She had said. "My love's eyes."

He was bandaging his arm which had apparently been injured without her seeing. 

They got around to introducing themselves. He called himself Lutenient J.G. Pliskin. 

"I'm Raiden." Raiden said, sitting down on the stairs. 

"Strange name." Pliskin said lighting a cigarette. 

"Makes up for the boring one my parents gave me." 

"And you?" Pliskin said twisting around to look at Talena. 

"T." She said quietly. 

"Why are you on a mission like this?" He asked. 

"Because…I'm looking for someone. Someone special to me, anyway." 

"Your own personal gain, huh? Careful, that's when everything goes nasty." 

"Nastier than it's been for the last two years?" Talena asked sourly, covering her mouth, realizing she had pretty much given everything away. 

"No wonder you didn't want me under the name Snake!" Raiden exclaimed excitedly. "Because _that's _who you're looking for! So, you were the redhead on the Tanker?" 

"Yeah." Talena said, sighing. 

"No use worrying your pretty little head about him, T." Pliskin said leaning back. "He's dead. They found his body." 

"Liar. They are all lies. He's alive." Talena growled. She got up and moved away, tapping up her Codec. "Rosemary? I got a favor to ask." 

"Sure, T, that's what I'm here for." Rosemary said happily. 

"I want to know if they have confirmed Solid Snake dead." 

"Absolutely. I'll call back when I find out for sure." 

"You're a goddess, thanks." Talena said, tapping out. 

She moved back to where the guys were. "If he's dead, then I have no more reason to live." 

"Damn." Pliskin said. "I was going to say that if he's done with you, we could have a little fun in a locker, huh?" 

This resulted in Talena's hand colliding with Pliskin's face. "You fucking jerk." But her look told him "I know who you are." Her eyes flooded and she stormed off into the next room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Find the president, huh?" Talena said sourly to Raiden, not looking at him. 

"Yeah." Raiden responded quietly. He touched her shoulder, and then her other. "Are you all right?" 

"Get off of me, loser." She knocked him away. "Let's just get this fucking mission done. Then I'm out of here." 

"We all are, T." Raiden said. "We'll all go and cele-" 

"Fuck you and your damn friends, Raiden! If Snake is dead, then what the hell do I have?! That means Otacon is dead, too! I have no one to go home to. No family, no friends, no home, period. And before you ask, yes I am basking in self-pity. Kiss my white ass." Talena growled. 

Raiden backed up. "S-sorry." 

"Me too." Talena said as quickly as possible, not meaning to snap at him. "It's not your fault." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Otacon flushed furiously. "What was that for?" He asked touching his cheek where she had kissed him. 

"I like you a lot, okay? You're really a sweet guy. Plus, I'm not going with you. I'm going somewhere else. Should my calculations be correct, we have an old friend lurking in Big Shell, and I'm gonna go locate her." Meryl smiled. 

"Yeah, okay. Keep in touch! My frequency is--" 

"141.12! Yeah, I know! Mine's--" 

"140.15! Heh, me too!" Otacon smiled and followed a certain Peter Stillman off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit." The words left Talena's mouth as she watched the bullets whiz by the pretty black woman (A/N: "Who had blonde hair." Otacon: "?!?!?! What the hell?! First Raiden, and now this?" "Hush.") Raiden was whispering something to himself, but Talena couldn't hear. They watched the president be carried off by Vamp, and then the woman slaughter the men shooting at her. 

They slid back inside and Raiden stared at Talena. "Oh come on, they have him, but I don't think he's dead yet." She was shaking. "N-no, not that…that woman…I know her…" Talena stuttered. She was scared, and her eyes were darting around. Raiden looked at her sadly, and then tapped into his Codec. 

"Pliskin, T is spazzing. She says she recognizes some…some chick who has a sort of…barrier against bullets. I think she's gonna---Holy shit!" 

"What?! What happened?!" Pliskin yelled. 

"She's passed out! I'm gonna have to call ya back!" 

"I'm on my way!" 

"Meet me in Strut A! I took out the guard there already." 

"Yeah." 

Raiden tapped out and then picked Talena up, and did his best to sneak quietly back to strut A, which seemed to take ages. He pushed the computers off a table and lifted her onto it and waited. His Codec beeped. 

"Raiden! What happened to T?" It was the Colonel. 

"She freaked out. There was a woman down there who had the president with that vampire dude and she had some sort of barrier against bullets and Talena said she knew her and now she's passed out and Pliskin is on his way!" 

"…Slow down, Jack." Rosemary said quietly. "Say it at a normal speed." 

"Okay, we walked out onto the AB Connecting bridge, and we had to duck. Apparently, Talena knew a woman who was with Vamp. She was black, but she had light hair. She had a gun the size of a small whale, too. Well, some people were shooting at her, and well, the bullets, they just sorta…dodged her. And then she tore those guys up that had been shooting. Then they walked off with the president." 

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "We'll have to get the story from her when she wakes up. And as for the president, was he willingly with them?" The Colonel asked, and Raiden was almost angry with him for changing the subject. 

"No, he was unconscious." Raiden confirmed. 

"Who is this Pliskin fellow?" 

"Says he's with the SEALs." 

"Don't trust him." 

"Well, I won't. And T smacked him 'round the face about an hour or so ago. Pretty amusing." 

"Oh, Jack?" Rosemary chimed in. "Yeah?" "Tell Talena that Solid Snake is dead. They have his body, but his right arm was missing. They took it out for testing, though." 

"…Oh, okay…" Raiden said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. 

"What's the matter?" Rose asked, noticing the droop in his voice. 

"I was…sorta hoping to meet the Legendary Hero in person…" 

"Raiden," the Colonel interrupted. "There's no time for that." "…" And Raiden clicked out. 

~~~~~~~~ 

"Kid, what happened?!" Pliskin interrogated. 

"I told you what I know, the rest will have to come out of her." Raiden said quietly. 

Talena woke with Pliskin standing over her. "S…Snake…?" She whispered. 

Pliskin leaned close to her and touched her forehead. "You'll be alright." He lifted her head, slowly helping her up. "What happened? Can you tell us who you saw?" 

"Helena!" Talena shrieked. "Helena was there! She turned bad! She's not a good person anymore!!" 

"Woah, easy!" Pliskin hissed. "Who?" 

"That woman with Vamp! I know her! Now she...she's with Dead Cell!!!" 


	6. The journey to meet Stillman! Why Trench...

A/N: Sorry it took so long! I got Final Fantasy X for my birthday, and was hooked on Auron for quite a while. I couldn't tear myself away from him to write anything!! Sad, huh?

Snake: *Looks rather insulted* 

Raiden: *Looks invaded*

Otacon: *Looks Violated*

Talena: *Looks** pissed.*** "EXCUSE ME?!" *Wonders if anyone has noticed her strong southern accent* "You forgot US?! Over some ninny gay boy like Tidus?!...He is kinda cute though...

Snake: *Death glare* *Cough*

Talena: ^_^() "Oopsie! Oh well. Can we get on with the story?"

Otacon: "You forgot about me?"

Beatrix: "Nah, I did play quite a bit of Metal Gear Solid 2!"

Everyone: "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Beatrix: *Eyetwitch*

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Six:

Pliskin had run ahead. Talena was back up, but pacing nervously. She looked to Raiden and gave a distressed sob. "I'm freaked out." She allowed him to wrap his arms around her in a FRIENDLY EMBRACE, (A/N: Otacon: "Suuuuuure"...Talena:*SMACK*) and he patted her on the head. "T, you're like a sister to me. I understand. I know you may think I don't, but I can tell, just by the expression on your face. We'll surely meet up with her later! You can talk to her!"

"Y-yeah....I guess..." Talena sighed. She didn't want to argue with Raiden, no matter how necessary it seemed. She gave a yawn and took her SOCOM off the strap on her thigh. "I'm ready. Let's rock and roll." She winced at her won statement. "How cliche! How about...no, that won't work...umm...got it! Let's make like Priests and get the hell outta here!"

Raiden snorted, and then burst into a fit of giggles. "Where'd you hear that?"

Talena smiled a little. "Well...back when I was on the Tanker, Snake used to say that. I thought it was funny."

Raiden laughed. "All right well, let's go before they realize that they have a man down."

"Okay."

They walked back across the AB connecting bridge, but Talena stopped dead. "Raiden...do you...hear something?" Raiden listened too for a moment and then nodded. Finally Talena yelped. "CYPHER! Run as fast as you can to the other side, hurry!" They did and not too late. The CYPHER was a gun CYPHER, and had just barely caught a glimpse of Raiden's rear end, and let off a few rounds. Raiden dived, and hid behind the wall with Talena. They looked at each other, and then they both snorted in laughter and entered the next room. 

Nothing of interest really happened until they reached Strut C, unless you count Talena's coat getting caught in a door they had no clearance for. With giggles and snorts, they managed to stifle most of their laughing so it wouldn't be heard by the patrolling guard. Eventually, Raiden managed to pull her free, and then stopped. "How did you manage to get caught in there anyway?"

This only resulted in a snort, and when the guard heard, they had to duk into a corner and wait for him to go away. Raiden's codec beeped and he answered, "Hm, hehe...?"

"Stealth missions," Came Pliskin's voice, "were not meant for people with chronic giggles."

~~~

By the time the two of them arrived at Strut C, their giggles were gone. They crept quietly into a room that looked like a kitchen. "Food!" Talena yelped, dashing right past a man who sat near her and began to scarf apple slices as fast as she could. She was so hungry...

Raiden, however, his gun was pointed at the man. 

"Don't shoot." He said, and Talena's face shifted towards him, though she was still stuffing apple slices into her mouth. She narrowed her eyes, and placed one hand on her gun, the other still picking up the fruit, as she saw his hand touch a wrench. Raiden saw it too. 

"Are you with the police?!" He asked.

"I'm not NYPD."

"Noo Yerk Polith Depotment?" Talena asked.

"What?" Raiden and the man both asked. 

Talena smirked and swallowed, and cleared her throat. "If you aren't with the New York PD, then what's up with the jacket?"

He didn't answer. But they were distracted by a newcomer. "Don't be pointing that gun at everything that moves, kid." It was Pliskin. "He's not a bad person."

"And neither are you?" Talena asked. 

"You weren't so cocky when you saw the apples I sliced for you." Pliskin smirked back at her. 

She didn't respond, just made a really rude gesture at him.

The black man spoke up. "My name's Peter Stillman. You two are?"

"I'm Raiden. This is my partner, T." Raiden said, patting her on the shoulder. 

"Nice to meet you two."

"Peter Stillman? I've heard of you. A big bomb expert, ya?" Talena asked.

"That's right. But...not anymore."

Talena stopped paying attention after that, and looked over to where Pliskin was. He was _staring _at her! And not looking away! Jerk....She pulled a candy bar from a box on the counter and stuffed it in her mouth, and then glared at Pliskin as if to say "Keep staring and I'll show you what a Snikers bar looks like ground up and mixed with saliva!"

This, undoubtedly, made Pliskin look away.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: So, whatcha think?! Like, hate? Yay!


	7. And I really LIKED Peter Stillman, too! ...

A/N: It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I just got Substance and beat the Bomb disposal part. So now I know what happens again. X__x *Forgot where all the bombs had been placed* Anywho, forgive my absence from the Metal Gear Realm~~!! PS--my author name was formerly Beatrix CoRal. I still sign using that name though. O.o... 

Talena: .....So you're gonna write? 

PLB: Affirmative. 

Emma: G-GOD! I HATE that word. 

Otacon+Snake: .....XDXDXDXD 

-------- 

Chapter 7: And I really LIKED Peter Stillman, too! Christ! 

-------- 

"So, now...what're we doing, anyway?" 

"T, did you-" 

"Completely ignore Mister Stillman's speech just now? Yup. I was hungry. Can't live off of MRE's forever. Rations are ewie." 

Raiden snorted. Figured. Now he'd have to explain it to her, and he didn't understand everything completely. "There's a C4 bomb planted in every strut in this Shell and Shell 2. We have to deactivate them. And, uh, report their locations to Peter." 

"Oh. That's all, then?" 

"?" 

"I was trained in bomb disposal. Duh." 

"He told us just to freeze them." Raiden tossed her the container of coolant. 

"Well, that's no fun, but he is a legend." _Just like Snake. _"What's this yellow I'm getting on the radar? Is that the C4? Oh, nevermind, it's the general location. I heard that much." 

"Head that way. It's the, uhm....girl's room." 

".....Ahahahaha! Come on, dinkus, it's not like there's going to be anyone in there!" 

"D-dink-us...?" 

She grabbed his hand and happily dragged him in and looked around for the source of the unsettling beeping rhythm. It was Raiden who finally spotted it. He pointed without a word and nodded. She glanced up at it, and then to him. 

"......Raiden...? I, um....I don't think this is right. You should...you should call Peter." Talena climbed up on the sink, watching it momentarily before holding the coolant up and gently spraying it to see if it would react. When it didn't she proceeded to hose it down with the stuff, and when she jumped down, she glared at Raiden's glum face. "Oh, now what, Jack?" 

"Stillman agrees with you. Pliskin-" 

"Puh! Stupid bum." 

"-reported two other locations, and Stillman said it was wrong, but we can't do anything to determine what's going on at the moment. He said to continue frosting the bombs." 

"....Alright, then, let's go." 

--- 

Strut B. Status, searching frantically for the final C4. Colonel not happy. Peter not happy, either. Bombs not planted with skill. Rose and Raiden-lover's quarrel AGAIN. Won't stop. Make it stop. PLEASE GOD, make it stop. Codec beeping. 

"Yeah, whadaya want?!" 

"Uh, T...? This is T, right?" 

"...Please don't tell me this is Pliskin." 

"Who else, hun? Hey, listen...I, uh, wanna apologize for being such a prick lately." 

"Lately? You talk as if we've known one another for a long time." 

"Uh, well, I just wanted to say sorry. I've been a real jerk." 

"No shit. Raiden, close that damn locker! It's driving me nuts." 

"T, listen, I'll call you a bit later." 

"Right." 

Raiden shut the locker and then gave a jump. "Ah! Ack!" He grabbed Talena and pointed at the wall frantically. "There! It's been there the whole time!! Auuugh...." 

Talena grumbled and muttered something that vaguely sounded like "This is all your fault. I had nothing to do with this." 

Raiden deactivated the bombs, and then went into a deep codec conversation with Stillman and Pliskin. 

--- 

"T, LET'S GO! We have to get down to the basement of Strut A!" 

"It's down there, I know, but we have no idea WHERE down there!" 

--- 

It was on the elevator to the basement where they recieved the fateful call. Talena and Raiden's codecs beeped, and they glanced at each other wearily before answering it. 

"Pliskin? Raiden? T? Listen carefully." It was Peter! Phew. They had thought it was going to be the Colonel. Again. 

"What's up, Peter?" Talena said, worry showing in her expressive eyes. She didn't like the tone he was using at all. 

"I fell for it." 

Pliskin blinked. "Fell for what?" 

"Fatman has my number. A proximity trigger. Microwave." 

"Microwave?" Came Talena and Raiden's timed response. 

"With a seven foot range." 

"No..." Talena's eyes welled. 

"It's not a technique I taught him. Neither was that multi-bomb booby trap." 

"Peter...what are you saying?!" Raiden could no longer hide his alarm. He was overanxious, and worried out of his mind. 

"Looks like he's far surpassed me as far as explosives technique goes. As for the rest..." 

"Pete! Get the hell outta there!" Pliskin shouted so loud, Talena hiccuped. 

"There's less than thirty seconds left. It's too late." 

"NO!" Raiden whined. 

"Oh, God help us all...." Talena whispered. 

"Pliskin. Get away from Strut H as fast as you can." 

"Pete..." Pliskin sighed. 

"Raiden, T, keep your distance. Use the coolant from as far away as possible." 

"Me...?" Raiden blinked. "_Us?_" 

"You can do it. I know you can." 

"I'm not so sure..." 

"But I am." Talena and Peter said in unison. 

"Do it. I know you can." 

And a tiny beeping was heard from Pete's nanomachine. Then the explosion. The scream. The sizzle. 

Talena logged out of her codec and proceeded to give a sob into Raiden's shoulder. He wasn't going to be the last, she thought. She knew he wasn't going to be the last. 

--- 

T followed Raiden's lead as he ran into the pool launch area, their sensor B beeping periodically. She stood by the door, and kept watch, as Raiden scouted the area with all alertness. Finally, he located it. He held the coolant up and proceeded to frost it. 

He looked up at Talena and nodded. It was done. 

The two left the room. It was when they re-entered the elevator room when it happened. 

Fortune. 

She walked out of the elevator, and the two FOX-HOUND mercenaries dove behind separate boxes. 

"You don't know how long I've waited for this! I'm so very happy you're alive, Solid Snake! Now, you can send me to the grave, like you did my father!" 

"Oh crap." Raiden groaned before leaping behind the box Talena had taken refuge behind, as Fortune blew his to dust with her plasma gun. 

"That's not....that isn't him!" Fortune blinked, extremely confused. Raiden, however, was staring at Talena, who looked prepared to faint. 

"T? Are you gonna be alright?" 

"Helena!" She shrieked. "Helena, no!" 

"...? Excuse m--T?!" Fortune stared at the red head who had now stood up. "T....they said you were on that Tanker with Snake!" 

"Snake didn't kill your father! It was-" 

"Silence! If you are going to take sides with my father's murderer, then I'll dispose of you as well!" 

"NO! Hel-" But Talena was cut off as she was tackled by Raiden. 

"Stay low, keep quiet, and move only when necessary!" He whispered. "Unless you wanna be so dead that you'll never see Snake again!" 

Talena whimpered but obeyed, and the two huddled close to each other, frightened, fearing for their lives. It was only when the Colonel called did it get worse. 

"Raiden, Talena. They've executed one of the hostages!" 

"What?!" They both growled in unison. 

"They plan to execute one every hour from now on! And...there's one other thing." 

"......Yes?" Talena responded. 

"Fatman contacted us. Says to meet him on the roof of Stut E, the heliport." 

"Fatman contacted us directly?" Raiden questioned, amazed. 

"Yes. He asked for you two specifically. You best go up and meet him-he's threatened to blow the Big Shell into the water if you don't show up." 

"Oh God...how much time do we have, Colonel?" Talena asked. 

"...About 500 seconds." 

"500 seconds?!" Raiden pretty much screamed. It was lucky though, because at that very moment, the elevator beeped, and came to a stop on their level. 

Fortune lowered her gun. "Vamp. What is it?" 

"It seems...our friend Fatman has lost sight of our ideals. He's nothing more than a stereotypical mad bomber now." 

Talena cringed at the man's voice, and knew almost at once it was Vamp, and was ready to charge him. 

"I'll take care of the wayward soul. You handle this." Fortune's voice rang in their ears like a dented bell. 

"My pleasure, Queen." 

Fortune turned to leave, and Raiden jumped out. "Now!" He fired a few shots at Fortune, and predictably, they bounced off of her. However, what she had not predicted, was that they had managed to take Vamp---once in the forehead, once in the stomach. 

"No!" Fortune cried, rushing to catch him. 

"Ew!" Talena wrinkled her nose as Raiden grabbed her and drug her out. He kept his gun aimed at the two of them, but Fortune made no move to fire at them, only glared ferociously. 

"That death...was meant for me!" She glared specifically at Raiden. "I thought you could give me death....why must I always survive?! How much longer will you force me to live?!" 

Raiden drug Talena onto the lift, and they were carried up. 

--- 

"No need to cry, Queen." 

"Vamp!" 

"I have already died once. I cannot die twice...." 

--- 

"All right, let's move! Quickest way will be to go through Strut F!" 

"Aw, Jesus, I HATE the sediment pool." 

"I do too, T, but it's not a scenery tour." 

The two of them ran off, and scurried past the guards in Strut A, and the A-F connecting bridge cypher was easily put out by Talena's SOCOM. In the sediment pool, they were spotted, but managed to run fast enough so that no one knew exactly what they had seen. 

Strut E, they put the guard out and climbed to the roof. And they still had three hundred seconds to spare. 

"Right on time. I like a punctual man. Ooh, and a punctual woman!" 

((A/N: Talena: -.- *Huffs* Sexist PIGS.)) 

Talena corked an eyebrow and withdrew her SOCOM, staring blankly at Raiden. 

"You hear that rhythm? The rhythm of time. I used to hang around Department store clock counters." 

"Weirdo." Talena grumbled and Raiden nodded furiously in agreement. 

The man skidded to a halt in front of them, and they both had to choke back a laugh. Yeah, this guy was psycho. The name "Fatman" was not an overestimate of his size. In fact, it was, if anything, and understatement. And to add to the hilarity and proof of the insanity running through this guy's brains, he was on, of all things, rollerblades. Then, to make things worse, the man then held up a wineglass, full of fragrant red wine, and drank the remainder of it...through a bendy straw. 

Talena let out a laugh. 

Thank GOD Fatman ignored it. 

"Mmmm....good year. Let's drink to Peter Stillman, shall we?!" 

This snapped Talena out of her daze, and enraged Raiden beyond belief. "Peter Stillman had your number!" 

"You got nothin' on him!" Talena added. 

"Stillman was NOTHING. He died six months ago on that fateful day!" 

"The eradication of Dead Cell." Raiden said. 

"That has nothing to do with this." Talena hissed. 

"Call it what you want! Only the right stuff survived that hell. For me, it was an opportunity!" 

This went on for a while. Soon, Talena found herself dozing. Finally, she was awakened by a bizarre laugh. "This is how the game works! I plant a bomb, it goes off soon after that. You have to defuse it before that happens!" 

Talena growled and gripped the end of her SOCOM angrily. 

"Let the party begin!" 

--- 

It was insanity. Pure insanity that Talena almost considered fun. Hide and Seek with the risk of explosion. A nice breeze was blowing. She and Raiden had almost gotten rid of this insane, overweight bomber. 

Life wasn't so bad. 

Fatman planted a bomb, and Talena, who was ducking, beeped into Raiden. "I've got the bomb, kid. You get fatty. We're almost done here." 

Talena listened carefully for the beeping, and realized not a second too soon that the bomb had been planted directly above her. She wasted no time jumping up and frosting it with the coolant. A few seconds later, she heard Raiden's gunshot, and Fatman's shriek of pain, and knew that it was over. 

She ran to Raiden's angry voice, just as he said, "The party is over for you!" 

"That's what you think, kid." 

"What about the ransom?!" 

"Ransom?" 

"Three billion dollars in cash!" 

"Hahaha. Ransom. Like I said, I'm not here for money. I'm here for the fame. I'll go down in history as the man who beat Peter Stillman." 

"Well, I guess that means we'll go down in history for being the boy and girl that beat the man who beat Peter Stillman. Doesn't really make you all that important. You were intimidating for about forty five seconds." Talena growled angrily. She was ready to blow this guy's face off. 

Fatman stared at her in utmost loathing. And then, he held up a trigger...and touched the button. 

"What the hell did you just do!?" Raiden shouted. 

"It's a trigger. A trigger to the biggest bomb in the whole place. It'll go off soon. And bring this whoooooole Big Shell with it. So long. Let the party beg-" 

Talena assumed he had been ready to say "begin," but she had shot him before he had a chance to finish his sentence. They both listened in silence for the bombs beeping and knew that it was very close. 

And that Fatman was slightly elevated. Raiden and Talena seized his legs and proceeded to pull him back, and revealed it. The largest amount of C4 Raiden had ever seen planted in one area. 

Raiden dropped to his knees and began to hose it down with the coolant until it was fully deactivated. He then smiled weakly at Talena, who quivered and scratched her nose. They had done it. They had saved the day _again._

---- 

A/N: Hope you liked Chapter seven! Sorry it took so long! R+R! 


End file.
